


On This Harvest Moon

by no_regrets_coyote (athenadevice)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Aging, Ficlet, Fluff and Angst, Gen, One-Sided Relationship, Platonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-12
Updated: 2013-09-12
Packaged: 2017-12-26 08:39:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/963899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/athenadevice/pseuds/no_regrets_coyote
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean grows older and Castiel watches.</p>
            </blockquote>





	On This Harvest Moon

**Author's Note:**

> An AU of sorts from Season 8 as Castiel is an angel in this.

“Because I’m still in love with you  
I want to see you dance again”  
-Neil Young, Harvest Moon 

The thing about aging is that it is a natural progression, as well as a gradual process for most. For Castiel, who has seen the beginning of man, the human life span is a remarkably short one. Dean laughs at Castiel’s observation, stating that it was easy to see life pass on a cloud, although Castiel isn’t quite sure what Dean means by that. Never before has Castiel watched the aging process firsthand, and now he finds it a slow and painful one. 

At first, Castiel notices small changes that occur with Dean, such as bad backs and a shooting pain he feels in his knees. Dean no longer takes physically demanding cases. He instead opts for the planning aspect of a case and prefers to be the general brains behind the operation (a position that Sam mocks him about constantly). After that, Castiel begins to see further signs that Dean is no longer as young as he remembers- grey hair, larger and more permanent laugh lines, and Dean’s need for glasses. 

It seems for Dean, these changes are natural and they seem to happen at a rate that he barely notices. But Castiel, these changes occur much too fast. They are signs that Dean will no longer be on Earth forever. 

As much as this thought pains Castiel, he does not leave. Sam marries and moves away, develops a life away from hunting. He visits often enough, but still, he’s no longer constantly there and there’s an empty presence that both Dean and Castiel feel. It’s now just the two of them and whatever the two of them are. 

They’re just friends, but they seem more than that thanks to their profound bond. For Castiel, he only feels love towards Dean, and he knows that Dean loves him in his own platonic way. There’s another reason that keeps Castiel there to watch over Dean. 

Quicker than Castiel cares, the gradual changes become more and more pronounce. Now Dean’s entirely grey, he walks at a slower pace, and years of shooting guns has left him completely deaf in one ear. His knees hurt him so badly that there are days he waste entirely on the couch watching re-runs of _Doctor Sexy_ with an ice pack on his knee. Castiel spends those days next to him, asking the odd question, but generally silent as he watches Dean watching TV. Sometimes the questions make Dean laugh, which encourages Castiel to spend his days with Dean on the couch, ignoring the household chores he has taken upon himself to do. 

It must hurt Dean to see that Castiel hasn’t physically aged since the time they first met. Back when it was just the beginning of “Dean and Cas”, they were often mistaken as lovers, a fact which Dean had always outright denied. Now, Castiel is often mistaken as his son, something that Dean rarely protests. 

“Why do you never correct that?” Castiel asks one day when their waiter tells them it was nice of Castiel to take his father out for a meal. 

“It’s just creepy that a young guy like you likes hanging out with an old fart like me,” Dean chuckles. There is a smile on his face when he says this, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “You’re not going to want to hang out with someone who needs a walker to go places.” 

“You know I would wait an eternity for you, Dean,” Castiel tells him sincerely. 

“Jesus, Cas! You can’t say shit like that,” Dean cries out with embarrassment. He pats Castiel’s knee as he gets up and walks to his bedroom, slamming the door behind him. 

The next couple of days are awkward, but slowly, Dean comes out of his room and silently walks into the living room with his laptop (which Sam had taught him out how use) in hand. Castiel is doing laundry in the other room. He walks in with a cup of coffee for Dean in one hand and the laundry basket filled with plaid and soft cotton balancing on his hip. 

“You know that if I had the power to, I would prevent you from aging. You and Sam,” he tells Dean. “I would have kept you young forever.” 

“That’s not right, Cas,” Dean says, taking the cup from Castiel. “You know that. Humans are suppose to grow old even if it sucks.”

“Regardless, I would still do it,” he says, bending over and kissing the top of Dean’s head. 

“Thanks Cas,” Dean mumbles, turning to his laptop. Castiel sits down next to him, and they pass another day together.

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by Neil Young's Harvest Moon and Daggomus Prime's artwork-http://daggomusprime.tumblr.com/post/28176438377/old-man-dean-and-his-young-man-3-i-have-a-huge


End file.
